Land hearing

[lacy]

Bob, the land was $100K an acre. That's $8 million. How could the waste water possibly be $10 million? Really.

I hope they get BB, but if there is a significant delay or they have to pay a much higher price than conveyed to the public during the referendum, they need to move on. It isn't plausible that the only site is BB.

And the SB and SD shouldn't be swayed by people who only want BB if that turns out to not be what's best for the district.

[bob]

That is the cost that the SB said and the mayor confirmed. You can call them yourself. The mayor's e-mail is on the site and I am sure a SB memeber will also confirm.

They said a seven figure number because it involves linking the whole site to the Bolingbrook system which is some distance to cover. They, also, have much higher discharge fees.

And the 4th lane cost will not be cheap. I always wondered why 111th has one lane going into Bolingbrook and 2 lanes out. The cost of the 4th lane will go to the developer.

From the SD Site Report

None of the necessary utilities are adjacent to the site, although all are relatively close.
The cost of bringing them to this site would be borne by the district. Worse, Bolingbrook
has very high stormwater control upcharges. The expected upcharge is well in to seven
figures. Road and site improvement costs will be relatively high at this location.

[lacy]

The last time I checked the SD report on the sites it was lacking the price of the different parcels of land. That seems like a very important piece of information to give to the public if they want the public to take the report seriously. The $100K price was quoted by the mayor in a conversation in which he denied that he didn't want the school there. It seems quite frankly unbelievable that storm water improvements would exceed the cost of the land. And given the difference in the price of the land for BB (at least $257K) and for Bolingbrook, there is some room.

IMO the doom and gloom about Bolingbrook or the northern site is promulgated by people who only want BB because of their own circumstances. Hopefully it will work out, but we shouldn't stick to BB at all costs. It certainly has its own set of downsides, unknown price being one of them. And unknown time to aquire being another.

[lacy]

Bob, $10 million is 8 figures. I knew something was off. Based on my calculations, Bolingbrook is considerably less expensive and along with the northern site, should be reconsidered if we can't acquire BB in a reasonable time at a reasonable price. It's about the overcrowding, right?

[bob]

Oops my mistake.

Let's call it $7.5 million for the waste charge. That is still 93750 per acre just for that.

No kids can be bused there. There will be a few to no walkers to that site .Extra charge.

I am sure that the the road improvements still drive up the cost even higher. Let's not forget bringing in all the utilties at SD cost.

SD said the land is cheap but IMO the costs to get the site functional and the infrastruture needed probably equals it out. The Bolingbrook mayor wants high end housing there and he can probably make the BB condemantion look like a roadrunner (need a better metaphor).

Let's see the calculations. I am interested in seeing them. I mean that in a serious way, not in a sarcastic way.

Going over the site report. I think the Wagner Farm NO reasons look the weakest.

[cantretirehere]

bob said:

No kids can be bused there. Extra charge.

First time I've seen/heard anything about kids can't be bussed to Bolingbrook. Please explain.

[bob]

I guess I should proof read my posts.
Only a small few would be able to walk to that site. It could be zero walkers if the state would classify Hassert/111th as a hazard.

[wvhsparent]

While I really don't want to continue this, as we are veering off a wee bit, and most of this has been covered/stated before. The SB has made it clear that in the Far future when/if enrollment declines to the point they don't need all 3 HS, they would sell one off with WVHS(Oldest) being the prime candidate. They do not want NVHS to be the Northernmost school.
OK I am done now....

Let's refrain any further alternate site discussion in this thread.

[bob]

I heard CB said that NV would lose the frosh campus (convert to a middle school) and then the SD would sell Still would be the plan in the future

[wvhsparent]

d204taxpayer said:

wvhsparent said:

While I really don't want to continue this, as we are veering off a wee bit, and most of this has been covered/stated before. The SB has made it clear that in the Far future when/if enrollment declines to the point they don't need all 3 HS, they would sell one off with WVHS(Oldest) being the prime candidate. They do not want NVHS to be the Northernmost school.
OK I am done now....

Let's refrain any further alternate site discussion in this thread.

Hi, WVHSparent:

When did the SB say this? Do you have this in writing per chance? I have seen emails from at least one maybe two members stating that selling WV was not an option in the future and they have and would never consider such a plan. They emphatically denied ever making this statement.

Thanks for keeping us posted on the legal filings. It is helpful and appreciated. If not too much of an inconvenience and an imposition, would you be able to obtain and post the filings in the new case you mentioned yesterday in 2006CH660?

I will have to look around I think it was from an m2 email, or Now that I think about it; I think Stephens talked about it at one of the coffees with the board on a Sat.
so maybe that was some outloud musings by m2 or Stephens. If I have anything in writing I will post it. It was also stated as a Big IF, not like it was going to happen anytome soon of if ever.

I will scan and post the 06CH660 case later today.

[gatormom]

I remember that as well WVHSParent. It was at a Saturday morning coffee. I believe it was Stephens. He said several times, this is not in the plans, but should enrollment go down 20 years or so down the road (which nobody anticipates) the SB might have to consider closing one of the schools and the obvious choice would be WV because of the age of the building.

He stated repeatedly that they do not see this happening at all, but they must consider all possibilities when chosing a site for the 3rd high school. School boards have a tendency to get blamed for what seems to be poor planning and this was something that needed to be considered in site selection even though they have no reason to believe this will ever happen.

[lacy]

Even if one or two said it, that doesn't sound like a majority. In addition, some of these board members may not even be board members by next year.

[wvhsparent]

lacy said:

Even if one or two said it, that doesn't sound like a majority. In addition, some of these board members may not even be board members by next year.

True, but it makes sense to me, as a person in the Northern part of the District I do not want NVHS to EVER become the "north school"

[lacy]

The thing I'm trying to wrap my brain around is why we would be discussing selling a school and building one in the same breath. If we would need to sell one in the future, do we need a new school?

Maybe all of this is so hypothetical we should just focus on the status of BB. Any news?

[momof3]

lacy -
bob posted the Naperville Sun article yesterday in one of his replies - here it is also. No news. Stall stall stall. Seems to me that the BB side wants the motion to dismiss hearing pushed back as long as possible b/c half of the reasoning for it - that the district doesn't need the land b/c the '05 ref failed - has changed since they filed (the '06 ref passed) - and would be thrown out. imo.
eta - And as wvhsparent noted yesterday, the open meetings act violation appears to be another stall stall stall tactic.

Stalemate over property for third 204 high school

By Britt Carson
staff writer

A simmering legal dispute over land could stall plans to build a third high school in Indian Prairie School District 204.

After voters approved a $124.7 million referendum in March, school officials had hoped to quickly obtain the 55 acres needed to build the third high school. Indian Prairie already owns about half the land, commonly known as the Brach Brodie property along 75th Street near the planned extension of Commons Drive in Aurora.

But the school district is still wrangling with owners of the other half of the property.

Richard Petesch, attorney for District 204, said the district wants to move forward with its land condemnation suit. Attorneys for the Hazel S. Brodie Trust moved to dismiss the lawsuit in February. Petesch said the district is still waiting for a judge to hear the request to dismiss. A hearing on the matter has been postponed twice.

"On both occasions, the other side has asked for additional time to respond," Petesch said. "We would like to move this forward."

The next court date for arguments on the motion to dismiss is set for June 28. Attorneys for the Brodie trust are asking for more time to collect statements from people, and they want additional documents from the school district. However, Petesch said Brodie attorneys are requesting the minutes from executive session school board meetings, and the district does not feel it is necessary to surrender those documents.

Attorneys for the Brodie Trust have filed another lawsuit accusing the district of violating the Open Meetings Act, and they want to combine that lawsuit with the condemnation suit. The school district opposes that request.

Meanwhile, the district is proceeding with architectural and design plans for the third high school. Sketches of the building are expected to be unveiled in June, and the preliminary floor plans are in place. The district hopes to put the project out for bid this winter and complete the project in time for a 2009 opening.